


Sortilege

by automatic_badgirl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canada, Canada Day Reylo Takeover, Challenge fic, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Québec, Romance, So Sweet You Might Need Insulin, maple syrup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 03:37:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19433146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/automatic_badgirl/pseuds/automatic_badgirl
Summary: Will Maple Syrup and Moonlight Make Magic for Ben and Rey? Maybe...A fluffy oneshot the Twitter Canada Day Reylo Takeover Challenge. As sweet as maple syrup, eh?Moodboard by sunshinexxmoonlight





	Sortilege

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the Canadian Reylos on Twitter for thinking of the challenge and inviting me to play.
> 
> Thank you to MJ, TB and JL for giving me the idea even though you aren't Reylos, just good and loyal friends who tolerate my need to write about Sexy Space Royalty.

##  **Sortilège--from the French. (magic) spell. Also a brand of Canadian Whiskey and Maple Syrup liqueur.**

The wooden door creaked as Rey wobbled into the dimly lit barn. Weak March sunlight slanted through the cracks, illuminating the chaff and dust motes that floated through the air. Pigeons cooed in the rafters and a huge Clydesdale regarded Rey solemnly over a stall door. 

She was really drunk. Like, haven’t been this wasted and walking since college. It was hard to say no though; the Canadians were so polite and kept offering her little, tiny glasses of...what was it? Sortilège! To drink. How could something so tasty pack such a punch? At first she took one to be polite. Getting this contract to provide Green technology and associated infrastructure to Hydro-Quebec was priority number one for First Order Engineering. And as sure as bears shit in these yonder woods, it became priority one for every junior engineer, Rey included. So she smiled and tipped it back under the hearty Quebecois encouragement of Etienne, the owner of the sugar shack. 

“Santé!” he’d cheerfully called and slugged it down. Laughing and pounding her on the back when she’d choked on the sweet fire burning its way down to her stomach. 

“Câlice de tabarnak, Rey! You must go slow with him if you aren’t used to sortilège, eh? He sneak up on you and fuck...you  _ saoul comme une botte. _ ” 

She smiled through watery eyes and agreed to be careful. Now, she was indeed drunk like a boot. Whatever that meant. After that first drink, it was a blur of toasting and laughter, singing and dancing and it was what? Rey squinted at her watch in the dimness of the barn only just after 3 pm?!

“Hello Mr. Horsie!” Rey staggered over to the Clydesdale, the huge head reached out to snuffle at her jacket. A metal plate on his halter said, ‘Ti’Jean’. She petted and fussed over the gentle animal; trying to ignore the reeling of her brain. 

“So...this was just supposed to be a little business trip, just a lil’ networking and shaking the right hands, but damn, I have  _ never _ been on a trip like this. I mean this is a sugar shack, I’m supposed to be learning about making maple syrup and now I’m drunk off my ass, Ti’Jean...like super drunk...I hope Mr. Solo doesn’t find out about this.” The horse looked steadily at her offering no opinion on her predicament.

Rey sighed. It’s not like she was the only one. The Canadians might be stereotypically meek and mild but they knew how to have a good time. By the time Rey left to get some fresh air, most of the junior staff at First Order was feeling little to no pain. The higher ups had been in closed door meetings all day. The junior staff had been sent out to tour the cabane à sucre with the understanding to  _ do whatever it took to convince the Canadians.  _ Because First Order Engineering was an American firm they knew they had to go above and beyond to secure the contract. 

Luckily, a recent political scandal with a national engineering firm had left Hydro-Quebec and the politicians in Ottawa and Quebec City considering outsourcing some of the business to other firms, even non-Canadian ones. At least she thought that’s what it was. It was all very complicated and, “I dunno, Ti’Jean. It kind of made sense when Mr. Solo explained it...So here we are. Touring the province, schmoozing it up with some political mucky-mucks and having a great old time. Yay for maple syrup!” She raised her arms in a little cheer and knocked off the tuque she’d been given with First Order Engineering embroidered on it. She bent down to get it and the world danced and spun around her. 

“Whoa… ok. Time to hol’up a bit there girl. Gotta find somewhere to sit down.” Rey saw an old wooden sleigh with what looked to be a pretty cozy plaid blanket folded up in the bed. 

“Perfect. Jus’ gonna take a load off for a sec.” Rey slumped down in the hay-filled bed and wrapped the blanket around her. She was snoring in minutes. Ti’Jean watched her sleep. 

***

Ben Solo smiled tightly and tried to not let his frustration show. He was not used to the way these people, Canadians, or maybe just the Quebecers, conducted business. He’d been hoping for a solid day of deal-making and negotiation and hammering out a contract by the end of the day. But no, it was cinq-à-sept time now apparently. Time to relax. Have a drink. Have some laughs. 

He accepted the beer--quite a good microbrew actually--Gord something, the junior minister or attache or whomever for Natural Resources had offered him. He looked at the label and smirked. A maple syrup porter. Of course...what else could he expect, stuck out here at this Cabane à Sucre and Conference centre in the middle of Quebec. These Canadians; he suspected they had maple syrup in their veins. And alcohol apparently. He’d seen the junior engineers staggering onto the minibus to take them back to the hotel. Clearly, there would be some sore heads in the morning. 

“Maybe getting us drunk to take advantage of us…” he muttered to himself. He tugged loose his tie and tried to pay attention to the intense and heated discussion of the Hab’s chances in the playoffs. Mentally, he reviewed the schedule for the evening; after drinks there would be dinner, then a moonlight sleigh-ride through the sugar bush, followed by a campfire. Presumably, accompanied by buckets of alcohol. He’d make sure to keep a clear head. Hopefully, I can get some of these government flacks to actually do their jobs and talk some business, he thought. He surveyed the room of happily lubricated, chatting people. Guess pork barrel politics are the same on either side of the border, he mused. Everyone clamouring for a turn at the trough. 

***

Rey woke up with a snort. Scrubbing her hand over her face. “Ugh.” She sat up slowly, brushing bits of hay out of her hair. “Wha-” Ti-Jean poked his head out at her and whickered happily. The sun was gone, the barn was lit by a few lamps. Realization dawned. “Oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshit.” Rey jumped out of the sleigh. She swayed, she was still a little drunk. Still? Jesus that sortilège is deadly...She scrambled and peeked out the door. The minibus was gone, back to the hotel and presumably her drunken colleagues hadn’t noted her absence. She was a little miffed, she figured Rose or maybe Finn, her cubicle mates in the firm, would’ve realized she wasn’t there with them. But then again…they’d probably been drunker than her.

She checked her phone. It was after six, she’d slept for 3 hours. There were no bars for service. “Of course not. We’re out in the middle of nowhere. What do I do? I can’t even call for a cab or Uber.” She paced the barn. She knew enough of the schedule to realize that the senior staff was staying for dinner. Maybe she could ask one of them what to do? Leia Organa or maybe Amilyn Holdo? Hopefully, they wouldn’t judge her too harshly for not being able to hold her liquor. 

She straightened herself up as best as she could then slipped out the door.

***

Ben had stepped outside to clear his head. The cinq-à-sept was winding down and people were slowly trickling into the dining room. They’d flown in a renowned chef from Montreal and anticipation was high. He’d managed to nurse his porter and fend off offers of another, he wouldn’t be able to avoid at least one glass of wine at dinner. 

That was when he saw her. The girl--the young woman--he mentally corrected himself. What was her name? Rachel? No Rey McLachlan. She was a junior engineer. He’d noticed her before. He told himself it was because he made an effort to know all his employees and not just because she was attractive. 

Well, usually she was attractive. She was wearing a puffy red parka that hid her slim figure, a tuque was jammed haphazardly over her dark hair and she seemed to have, was that hay? Stuck to her clothes. She was also weaving just the tiniest bit as she navigated the snowy yard. 

He approached her slowly, not wishing to startle her in the dark. He could hear her talking to herself. 

“Alright, be cool. Just say you fell asleep in the barn. Don’t bring up the sortilège and ask if you can just...what?” She paused and frowned at the ground. “Oh! Maybe hang out in the lobby until it’s time to go, sneak onto the bus and Mr. Solo is none the wiser…” 

His ears pricked when he heard his name. He was within speaking distance now. He cleared his throat. She kept walking closer, she was looking down, watching her steps on the slippery ground. 

“Excuse me, Miss McLachlan?” he said. 

She yelped in surprise and overbalanced on the icy surface, arms flailing. Unconsciously, he stepped forward and grabbed her to steady her but her momentum was too great. She toppled backwards onto her butt, dragging him down on top of her. 

She landed hard and he instinctively braced his arms as he tried to keep from flattening her. He wound up sprawled between her legs. 

She groaned, “Ow. Fuck! I mean Shit, sorry...I shouldn’t swear.” 

Ben pushed his palms into the snow and looked down at her, “Are you ok?” 

“I think so, nothing wounded but my pride.” She winced and rolled her hips, the feeling of her moving under him was dangerous and delightful. He quickly rose to his knees. She rubbed the back of her head and hissed. 

“Here let me see.” He sat her up and pulled off her tuque, he used his cell flash to look at the back of her head, “You’ll have a hell of a bump, but nothing is bleeding.” 

“Thanks,” she squinted up at him. Recognition flooded her face and her eyes widened. “Oh shit. Mr. Solo. Sorry! I knocked you down.” 

“I think I’m to blame for scaring you.” 

She was trying to stand, slipping and sliding in the wet snow. He reached out a hand and helped her up. She was flustered and babbling. 

“Oh I’ve got snow on your nice suit, oh I’m so sorry.” She brushed at the snow on his knees and thighs. “I just fell asleep and when I woke up everyone was gone--I didn’t mean to, but I was feeling a little tipsy…” She kept patting and flicking at the minimal snow on his legs. It was very distracting. He grabbed her mittened hand. 

“It’s quite alright. I’m fine. It’s a black suit, no one will notice.” 

She stood awkwardly before him. She looked so forlorn and embarrassed. There was a strand of hay still stuck in her hair. Absently, he reached over and plucked it out. 

“Have you had dinner yet?” he asked.

***

Rey felt like she was going to be sick. Her head was pounding from the knock against the frozen ground and she’d made a huge ass of herself in front of not her boss but the boss of her boss. The big boss. Dinner was the last thing on her mind. 

“Oh! No! Thank you but no. I really should be going.” 

He frowned. “Where? If I recall correctly, you missed your ride back to the hotel.”

“Uh yeah--” she stammered. “But I can just wait in the lobby until it’s time to go. I don’t want to be a bother.”

He grinned sardonically, “Oh no, I insist. That was quite a tumble. What kind of boss would I be if you suffered a concussion on my watch.” 

“Oh I’m fine...thank you but--”

“Plus, I’m  _ very _ interested to hear why you became so drunk at a work event that you fell asleep, was it? In a barn?” 

Rey bit her lip.  _ Shit.  _ She faked a smile. “Sure, dinner sounds great. Thank you, Mr. Solo.”

“Please, I insist you call me Ben, Rey is it?” 

She nodded confirming what he already knew.  _ Doubleshit, he knows my name... _

“Excellent.” He offered an elbow. 

Rey took it and they went in to dinner. 

***

She excused herself to the ladies and when she emerged she looked a little more presentable. As presentable as someone in jeans and a plaid flannel shirt could be. The red and black buffalo check stood out in a room full of more expensively dressed senior execs and politicians but the cinq-à-sept had served its purpose and most people weren’t paying much attention to anything except to the bottom of their glasses. 

Ben cast his gaze over his own senior staff. Most of them were a little loud and happy but no one was sloppy. He had high hopes they could pull this off. Rey sat beside him, nervously smoothing her hair. Why exactly had he insisted on her joining him? Usually, he knew his own motivations for everything he did; he was precise and methodical. Maybe that fall addled my brains a little too? 

“Wine?” The waiter had dropped off opened bottles of red and white. He took her glass and began pouring the red.

“No--uh ok. Just a small one.” 

She fiddled with the glass and looked around the room. Nervousness drew up a chair and sat between them. Say something, dammit. 

“So, Rey are you enjoying working for us so far?” 

“Yes! Very much, I’ve learned a lot. It’s been just such a great opportunity...” She nodded enthusiastically and then fell silent. 

He nodded. Trying to think of something else to say. It had been so long since he’d been on...a date? Is that what this was? Probably not. But he’d not had to make small talk with a pretty young lady for a very long time. What should he talk about? Movies? Sports? The weather? But she spoke first. 

“Alright, I’m just going to put this out there.” She gulped at the wine and continued, “Look, I know how important this contract is for First Order and--I--I was trying to be hospitable yeah? So I didn’t want to  _ not _ drink and be rude so you know, I  _ did _ drink..but this sortilège man...hits you like a hammer wrapped in velvet.”

“Sorty-edge?” he said.

“Yeah, did they give you some too? It’s sweet which I normally don’t like but maybe it’s the maple syrup ‘cause it grows on you.” 

“This is some kind of alcohol?” Damn those Canadians!

“Yeah? Like maple syrup and whiskey all mixed together? Anyway, I was in the barn talking to Ti’Jean and I felt really dizzy.”

“Ti’Jean?” he was having trouble keeping up. 

“Uh-huh! The horse? Anyway, I just meant to sit down for a minute but I’ve been really burning the candle at both ends…”

There was a horse involved now? He shook his head. She made him feel drunk. 

“Because I’ve been struggling with getting the parameters right for the new turbine designs. I  _ know  _ I can increase the efficiency I just need to tweak it a little more, so there’s been a lot of late nights and it all caught up with me and that’s why I fell asleep. Pleasedon’tfiremeIreallylovethisjob!” 

The last in a blurted rush. He blinked and took a sip of wine. She was gazing at him with desperate hope in her eyes. 

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Just then the waiter appeared with their first course. They murmured their thanks for the foie gras, terrine and tartare sampler. It really did look delicious. 

“Did you say you’ve got some ideas to increase efficiency in the turbine design?” He forked up at bite. Dear god that was decadent. 

She brightened, and launched into a brief description of her ideas. He nodded, seeing the genius of her modifications. She picked up her fork and took an absent-minded bite of the pate. 

“Oh my god. This is the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth!” she exclaimed. He choked on his next bite, covering it with a slug of wine. Thinking of her mouth and the things he wanted to put in it. 

***

In some way Rey was aware she was ‘rabbiting on’ as her mum often warned her but it was such a refreshing change to talk to a guy that got it. Most of her dates when she went into full-engineer mode either tried to one up her with mechanical knowledge or just got glazed eyes. But this was different, Ben was listening and asking such great questions, why couldn’t more of her dates be like this? Not that this was a date! She warned herself. Just two people sharing a delicious meal and mutual interests. 

So a date, then sweetie? She ignored the little voice buried in her head. It sounded an awful lot like her mum at times. 

“Why haven’t I seen these modifications being brought to me by your team lead?’ He asked.

She clammed up, she wasn’t exactly supposed to be working on the turbines. She wanted to make sure everything was perfected before she brought it to her team lead. She took a large bite of--god  _ damn  _ that is delicious--potatoes cooked in duck fat. She closed her eyes in appreciation and chewed. 

He didn’t wait for her to finish, the man was spooky smart. No wonder he was the owner of a large engineering firm at such a young age. 

“He doesn’t know does he? This is a personal project, isn’t it?” 

She swallowed and smiled, hoping she hadn’t bragged her way into being fired again. 

“Yeah. But I always make sure my assigned work is finished beforehand. Hence the late nights...I hope that’s ok?” 

He nodded distractedly. “But how does erm...your partner feel about such late nights? Surely your boyfriend...or um girlfriend must miss you?”

Rey felt the tiniest crease start in her brows, was he turning a bit pink?

“No. There’s no one. I haven’t had too much time to date…” 

“Me either…” 

They looked at each other. Was he  _ flirting  _ with her? No! She was just misinterpreting things. 

“More wine?” He offered. 

She should say no. She was already starting to feel a hair beyond tipsy. But it was hard to say no to this man. 

“Please,” she held out her glass. 

***

Ben couldn’t help but notice that Rey did this nose crinkle thing that was very charming. He especially wanted her to do it again after he made a little joke. 

Not only was she whip smart, but she laughed easily and often. At first he thought she was flattering him. He was her boss after all but no, she seemed to genuinely delight in the world. 

For the first time in a long time he found he wasn’t thinking about work. No, that wasn’t quite true because they were discussing her innovative design but he’d entirely left behind the negative parts of work; the pressure and meetings and minutiae that distracted him from the actual parts he enjoyed. He felt his shoulders relax for the first time in weeks as they watched the staff clear and ready the tables for dessert. 

They had promised a dessert that would capture the  _ esprit de l'érable _ . The serving staff bustled about setting metal troughs of packed snow on each table along with a mason jar of wooden popsicle sticks. 

“This looks interesting, any ideas?” he said. 

“I think I missed this part this afternoon, are we eating the snow?” She grinned and the nose crinkled again. It was really quite adorable. 

Suddenly servers appeared with thick oven mitts, carrying steaming pots. The sweet scent of warm sugar filled the air. Carefully they ladled thick strands of golden candy onto the clean snow. It cooled and thickened on contact. 

“Tire d'érable, monsieur et mademoiselle...maple taffy. Like so.” The waiter took a wooden stick and deftly wrapped the soft candy around it and handed it to Rey. 

She took a bite. Her eyes widened. “So good. Ben you must try!” He picked up a stick and tried to twirl the candy onto it, there definitely was a trick, sticky strings of sugar sagged from his popsicle stick. Rey grabbed another stick and helped. 

The maple taffy was still warm and melted onto his tongue with an ineffable sweetness. It was good; sugary and simple but satisfying, in the best way of childhood candy. 

Rey’s next attempt slumped off the stick almost immediately. She tried pushing it back on and wound up sucking the warm taffy strands off of her fingers. Ben was very aware of the way her mouth closed around her thumb. He felt a little dizzy when the idea popped into his mind of what it would feel like if she did that to  _ his _ thumb. 

***

Rey lingered over coffee, trying to clear some of the muzziness from her head. The sugar high from the maple taffy had helped but she was still far from entirely sober. But so what? Even Ben seemed to have loosened up a little. They’d laughed and fumbled with the taffy like a couple of kids. It’s ok to have fun. It  _ is  _ a trip after all. 

A  _ business  _ trip sweetie, mum voice piped up. Rey decided she was going to ignore that little voice from here on out.

She was feeling pleasantly full and happy. This certainly had been an excellent meal and Ben was so interesting; their conversation had wandered beyond work to discover a shared interest in Roman history and hard science fiction, they both preferred the Stones to the Beatles and both could quote lines from their favourite episodes of Mythbusters. They were so engrossed they failed to notice the dining room was clearing out. 

“Oh I hope I’m not keeping you.” she said. 

“Damn, I totally forgot the sleigh-ride thing.” He looked over at her, “Care to join me?” 

Unlike the dinner request from earlier, this was less a demand and more of an ask. Rey knew she should beg off and sit patiently in the lobby until it was time to leave. While work relationships weren’t exactly frowned upon at First Order they weren’t exactly a thing either. And who said anything about a  _ relationship _ anyway, they were just work colleagues sharing ideas over dinner. But, dinner was one thing, a moonlit sleigh ride? Well, that reeked of cheesy Harlequin romance. Best to say no.

“Absolutely!” Dammit. Girl, what are you doing? 

Rey was normally pretty driven; want a desired result? Set goal and work single-mindedly until said goal is achieved. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was how she’d navigated her way through school and life. Usually it was pretty foolproof. But you know what they say; you could try to design something that was idiot-proof and the world will just give you a better idiot. In this case, am I the better idiot?

Her life was a good one. She had her material needs met, worked a stimulating job, had friends. So why was she trying to muck it up with unobtainable fantasies of a love affair? With her boss, of all people? And it’s not like he’s even  _ interested  _ you silly, stupid girl. He’s merely being kind to an underling. 

But when he offered her his arm to help escort her over the snow to the sleigh she felt her foolish, idiot heart beat just a little faster. 

Just...don’t do anything to get fired ok? Said mum voice. And instead of telling it to shut up. Rey promised to listen. 

***

The sleigh, an old fashioned wooden contraption was standing in a clearing. Etienne was in the driver’s seat holding the reins of an absolutely enormous animal. Said animal swung his head round and his ears flicked forward when he saw the two of them crossing the snow. A happy sound rumbled from him. Ben felt a little unnerved to have attracted his attention. 

“Ti’Jean!” Rey exclaimed and crossed over to pet the giant horse. At least he assumed it was a horse and not some kind of mutant. Ben had never seen an animal that large in person. So this is Ti’Jean huh? Tentatively he approached. Rey stood by the horse’s head stroking the long face.

“Ah! My friend Rey, good to see you again!” Etienne said. “Ti’Jean is apparently happy to see you too.” 

“We met earlier.” she said. 

Ben slowly stroked the horse’s nose, it was much softer than he expected. The horse nodded his head and Rey giggled and kissed the animal between his eyes. Ben felt a tiny stab of envy for the horse.

“I get it Ti’Jean. Etienne, I think he wants to go?” 

“Well climb aboard friends.” 

Rey stepped up into the bed of the sleigh, which Ben noted as he climbed up was filled with hay. So this was where she fell asleep. They settled on a bale and Rey draped a blanket over their knees. There was only one other couple in the sleigh; Ben didn’t recognize them and assumed they were more Canadians. 

Etienne clucked his mouth and twitched the reins and with a jerk the sleigh started off. Ben wasn’t ready and he lurched a little into Rey. She smiled. “Careful,” she patted his knee. 

The bells on Ti’Jean’s harness jingled as the horse settled into a steady trot into the sugar bush. The path was well-travelled and tiny lights here and there marked the trail but it seemed to Ben like the horse knew the way as Etienne barely held onto the reins.

Once they’d left the lights of the cabane à sucre behind, the woods pressed close. The only sounds were the shush of the runners over the snow, the jingle of the bells and harness from Ti’Jean and the low murmurs of the other couple. The night air was crisp and fresh against his face. He was painfully aware of the warm length of Rey’s thigh next to his and the occasional bumps of her shoulder into his as she lurched into him with the motion of the sleigh. 

The moon was riding higher in the sky and beams of moonlight shot through the trees to illuminate the snow with a pale glow. It wasn’t as dark as he expected. The snow seemed to capture the moonlight and reflect it. It was very peaceful; dark silhouettes of trees rose up into the starry sky and the quiet was very profound. 

She tipped her face to the night sky, “I can’t get over how many stars we can see out here.” 

He agreed, not looking at the sky but at her face and the starlight reflected in her eyes. 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Rey murmured.

“Yes. I was just thinking that.” 

***

Rey was lost in the peace and quiet of the night woods. Just drinking in the experience of gliding almost silently through the forest. 

Etienne leaned back, “Ton chum is the boss eh?” he grinned at her

Rey was confused. Chum? She supposed Ben was her friend. A friendly boss at least. 

“Miss McLachlan, um Rey. Is my employee. We’ve never really socialized before this, have we?” He looked at her. She shook her head.

“C'est vrai?” Etienne looked surprised, “Could’ve fooled me. I thought you were, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend. Blonde et chum eh?” 

“Oh!” Rey could feel herself blushing in the dark. It was like Etienne could see the secret parts of her heart. “No. He’s my boss.”

“Yes, we’re...just colleagues.” Did Ben sound disappointed? Was she fooling herself? 

Etienne nodded. “I tell you how I met my wife, la?” She shook her head. “So I go to school, in Montreal, first day at McGill I go to my first class and calisse, if there isn’t the most annoying, pushy Anglophone girl sitting beside me. Always with the questions and the bavarder in English to me…” He made his hand talk. “I say to me, Etienne you find a new seat tomorrow! Decriss! She japper japper japper and drive you to drink! But non, next day I sit beside her again. And the day after that and the day after that…” He laughed. “We’ve been married 20 years! My heart, ben la he know what he wants before I do.” He winked at them slyly. “We have a saying here in Quebec,  _ ‘Tomber en amour’  _ now in France they hate that, it’s ‘tomber amoureux’ they tell us. Tombe means fall down and you don’t fall down into love. Tabernak! We understand here that sometimes you do because it’s painful and hurts a little bit when you fall. But when you pick yourself up again? C’est tiguidou!” 

Rey looked at Ben, she got the sense of most of what Etienne was saying despite the Franglais. Ben smiled and nodded politely. I think most of that went over his head, she thought. Thanks for trying Etienne...

The sleigh continued its steady journey deeper into the moonlit forest. 

***

Ben mulled over Etienne’s words. Well the English ones anyway. No clue about ‘tiguidou’...He hadn’t thought about his heart and what ‘he may want’ in years. There was no time, he’d been building First Order as a business, establishing a brand, securing contracts...It had been a fulfilling life so far but it had been a solitary one; which was fine, my heart understands relationships are messy, they throw a wrench into the established order of things, right?

His heart stubbornly refused to answer. His head reminded him that after the fire he’d be saying goodbye to Rey and going back to the grind again, establishing his brand, securing that contract. So why did the idea not seem as fulfilling as before? 

Since this woman had literally dropped him to his knees he’d been contemplating...what? That she was the one thing he’d been missing? That such a pretty, clever girl would even consider a relationship with him? No. She thought of him as her boss. Nothing more. 

Firelight shone through the trees up ahead and he could hear laughter and music. He wished Etienne could turn the sleigh around and they would just continue deeper into the forest, forever. 

Rey squeezed his hand, “I hope they have marshmallows to toast!” 

“Even after all that maple taffy? You could eat marshmallows?” 

“The fun is the toasting. I usually give mine away. I just like cooking food over an open flame! So elemental. Fire is fun!” 

The engineer in him couldn’t disagree. 

***

They did have marshmallows. They also had more sortilège.

“Now, you have to try to see what I’m talking about.” she said to Ben. She handed him a little glass. He frowned at it doubtfully. “Trust me.” she egged him on. 

“Only if you join me.”

“Fine but only one. I’ve learned my lesson.” 

They clinked the tiny glasses and drank. Ben made a face. “Eugh. That is sweet.” 

“Wait a second.” Rey grinned. 

The fire of the liqueur bloomed in his belly. Rey saw his expression change. 

“Good, right?” she said. 

“I doubt I could handle too much more of this.” 

“Nah, I got you.” Rey filled his glass again. What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get your boss drunk. Still she was gratified that he drank it. He also very gamely ate the toasted and partly blackened marshmallow she offered him a few minutes later. 

“I think I’m going to get diabetes.” He licked marshmallow goo off his lip. Rey couldn’t answer, too fascinated by the flick of his tongue on his plush lower lip. She was seized with a desire to feel that tongue on her lips, in her mouth. She swayed towards him a little. 

The others gathered around the fire ceased to matter, the chatter and laughter faded away and Rey leaned closer. Ben became aware of her proximity. 

“Rey…” quietly and curious now. 

Impulsively, she stood on tiptoe and pecked his cheek. “Thank you for being cool about everything. You’re a great boss...and..” she trailed off. His dark eyes had kindled, the firelight was reflected in them now. He stared at her, “And?” he prompted. 

She made to step back but he caught her wrist and drew her closer. 

She swallowed. What could she say? That she wished she could kiss him? That the moonlight and sweetness had driven her a little bit crazy? That she was under his spell? 

He didn’t wait for her answer. Just cupped the back of her neck and kissed her. Slowly and hesitantly at first. He deepened the kiss when her arms slid around his neck. Tongue--so sweet just like I knew it would be--slipped into her mouth. It was dizzying, she drank him down. His taste, the sighs, the feel of his mouth on hers. Whatever this moment cost her later she willingly would pay the price. 

***

He broke this kiss and tipped his forehead to hers. What on earth was he thinking? She was his employee, he could get sued into oblivion. 

“Rey I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--what am I doing?” 

“What are we doing, you mean?” She said, her hands were still twined around his neck and the feel of her in his arms. So soft and pliant. The hand splayed on the small of her back drew her closer still. 

She leaned close and her mouth traced hot kisses down his neck. “I think your heart knows what he wants for the first time in a long time, Ben.” He groaned as she nipped his flesh. “I think you should listen.” 

‘Tomber en amour’ that’s what Etienne said. You fall and it might hurt, you might get some bumps and bruises but when you got up again…

You’d have Rey. 

He let go and fell. 

***

First Order Engineering was a hive of activity. The Hydro-Quebec contract had kicked things into high gear. Ben looked over the final schematics for the new turbine design Rey had emailed him earlier. He approved it and sent the file off. A new email chimed into his inbox. 

Before he could open it his secretary buzzed him. There was a package he’d have to sign for. He went into the outer office. The courier handed him a large box, he took it back into his office after asking his secretary to have Rey paged. 

He clicked open the email. It was a reminder from the jeweller. The engagement ring was ready. Excellent. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep his anticipation a secret from her for much longer. He deleted the email and mulled over the best time to ask.

Rey strode in, “What’s up, boss?” she teased. She leaned over and kissed him quickly. The relationship had changed things at the office surprisingly little, other than Rey getting time to perfect her design. I guess that when you’re the boss, you get to make the rules. He looked at her, her eyes were eager as she looked at the box. She still had that uncommon joy in everyday things only now  _ he _ was one of the things she took joy in. 

“Etienne sent us” he emphasized the us, “a package.” 

“Well go on, what are you waiting for? Open it!” 

“I’d rather you do the honors.” Rey didn’t waste a moment. She dug her nails under the packing tape and ripped it open. Inside under layers of packing peanuts and bubble wrap Rey pulled out a couple of bottles from sortilège. There was a note so she read it,

“Felicitations! I heard you won the contract for Hydro-Quebec. I told my cousin I thought you would be a good company to work with. Please come and visit us again when next you are in la belle province…yours, Etienne Landry.” Rey frowned. “Who’s his cousin? I don’t remember meeting him.”

Ben folded his hands on the desk in front of him. “I didn’t know either, until after we signed I was talking to the Provincial Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Francois Landry...he asked if we’d had a good time at his cousin’s sugar shack…”

“No way!” Rey giggled. “That’s like--” she tried to find the word. 

“Patronage Politics at it’s finest? I know. I guess we have Etienne to thank for putting in a good word.” 

“Those Canadians.” Rey shook her head, “Anyway! More sortilège! We’ll have to save these for a very special occasion.” 

“Agreed.” Ben thought they’d drink the first one tonight after he proposed. If they were hungover on maple syrup liqueur they could call in sick tomorrow. It was good to be the king. 

He thought they’d finish the next one on their honeymoon. He was thinking of renting a romantic cabin...in Quebec. 

FIN. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
